


Didn't Know Where Else To Go

by Arvari



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Loki (Marvel) Does What He Wants, Loki has a heart, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, and definitely no ugly space grapes, everybody lives in the tower, headcanon: Thanos tried to kill half of people on Sakaar and was melted by the Grandmaster, it's forever 2012, loki is a little shit, no civil wars, no ultrons, or something equally pleasant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-17
Updated: 2019-05-17
Packaged: 2020-03-07 01:39:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18863134
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arvari/pseuds/Arvari
Summary: It was supposed to be a nice, calm evening. Even a villain can have one of those, right?But when a bloody, beaten and barely conscious Tony Stark appears on his doorstep, Loki's life is going to get a lot more interesting...





	Didn't Know Where Else To Go

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a [Tumblr prompt](https://66.media.tumblr.com/25456e01b17898f44949afa96c210bdc/tumblr_premp2ISJP1s4mhvr_540.jpg) I just couldn't resist. It was supposed to be a quick and short fanfic, but then I just watched it getting longer... and longer... and longer...  
> And you know what? I don't mind! And I sure as hell hope neither will you. :)

Loki looked up from his book and frowned at the sound of the doorbell.

It was nearly midnight. Most inhabitants of the apartment building were most likely asleep and those who probably weren’t were unlikely to come to his doorstep. He wasn’t expecting any villainous visitors (he was _never_ expecting any villainous visitors, the villains he knew had no idea he lived in _America_ , let alone _Queens_ ), so who the Hel…

He put aside his book and went to open the door.

What he definitely wasn’t expecting was the one and only Tony Stark – beaten, with both fresh and dried blood covering his temple and hair, wearing an Iron Man gauntlet on his left hand and swaying gently from side to side.

For a moment, Loki was completely at a loss for words. Before he managed to gather his wits, Stark took a sharp breath.

“Didn’t know...” he mumbled, his eyes losing their focus, “...where else to go.”

With that, his eyes closed and he fell straight into Loki’s arms, Loki’s fast reflexes being the only thing that saved him from tumbling to the ground.

“Well, thank you for the explanation,” Loki sighed, lifting his supposed enemy up and carrying him inside. “Although it doesn’t explain a fucking thing.”

He kicked the door closed.

 

When Tony regained his consciousness, the first thing he became aware of were fingers gently massaging his scalp. He opened his eyes slowly to find that no, him coming to Loki’s place was not just some weird dream created by the drugs in his system.

The fingers in his hair really belonged to Tony’s favorite villain, who was sitting in an armchair, his long legs draped over an armrest. He was holding a book in one hand and stroking Tony’s hair with the other. Except it wasn’t just stroking. Oh, no, a glorious warmth was spreading from his fingertips straight into Tony’s brain…

“What you’re reading?” the Avenger mumbled before he could stop himself.

The quick movement of Loki’s eyes towards Tony was the only thing that betrayed his surprise.

“Oh. So you’re awake,” Loki said. “Finally.”

The fingers in Tony’s hair stopped and the warmth with them. Tony whined softly.

“Come on. That felt good.”

“Of course. Healing is supposed to feel good.”

“Healing?” Tony blinked. He was awake, but his thoughts were slow, like they had to crawl through a swimming pool full of mud to get to him. “You were healing me?”

“Healing your injuries, yes. And getting the drugs out of your system as fast as I dared. Not very fast, I admit. I have no idea what your body can handle.”

“From my experience… it can handle a lot,” Tony smirked.

Loki nodded, closed his book and placed in on the coffee table.

“Now, care to explain why you are here? If I am to be honest, having an unconscious Avenger in my living room was _not_ among my expectations for this evening. Well… this night.”

But Tony wasn’t listening. He was squinting at Loki’s book.

“Are you reading… Discworld?” he muttered.

Loki snapped his fingers, clearly getting annoyed.

“Stark. Focus. What happened to you?”

“I… Fuck, sorry, I just… I don’t suppose I could get a cup of coffee? Please?”

“Why do you think I drink coffee?”

“Oh, I know you do,” Tony grunted, slowly pushing himself up into a sitting position. “I’m begging you. My head is spinning like crazy. I need caffeine.”

“But only since you asked so nicely,” Loki smirked, got up and headed to the kitchen counter.

Tony closed his eyes and tried to relax. He had to admit he wasn’t in any pain, but the nausea was killing him. He took a few deep breaths. The last thing he wanted was to throw up on Loki’s carpet.

“How do you take your coffee?” Loki asked from the kitchen.

“How do you?” Tony replied, not trusting his body with more words.

“Black and bitter, like my soul,” Loki said, laughing softly.

“Black and bitter is the best,” Tony muttered.

He didn’t open his eyes when Loki pressed a hot mug into his hand a minute later. He didn’t open them when he heard Loki sit back into the armchair and a soft rustle of pages. He focused on his breathing and an occasional sip of coffee – black and bitter and absolutely _delicious_.

“Your soul tastes amazing,” he whispered about twenty minutes later when he finished the coffee and finally dared to open his eyes.

“Well, thank you,” Loki nodded. “Feeling better?”

“Much.” Tony placed the empty mug on the coffee table and blinked when he noticed just _what_ kind of a mug it was. “Where the hell did you get an Iron Man-”

“It was a gift from Thor,” Loki said. “His idea of a _prank_ is bringing me every piece of Avengers merchandise he finds. Those that I like, I keep. The rest I give to kids in the neighborhood. I’m very popular among them, by the way.”

“I can imagine. Wait. Is that my face on your T-shirt?”

“What can I say? My brother is an idiot,” Loki shrugged. “Now, will you finally tell me what happened to you?”

“That’s just the thing. I’m not entirely sure,” Tony sighed. “I mean… I was kidnapped. Obviously. But it’s all just… kind of blurry. I’m not even sure how I got _here_. Why are you not surprised I knew where you lived, by the way?”

“Am I supposed to pretend I haven’t noticed Heimdall?”

Tony blinked.

“Heimdall?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. The little flying bot that follows me every time I leave the apartment, wherever I go, if I don’t teleport myself. I suppose it records everything I do and sends the footage to you and your superhero band. So I call it Heimdall. What’s its real name?”

“Uhm.” Tony bit his lower lip, his cheeks turning red. “It’s… Heimdall. Actually. And before you ask, no, Thor didn’t come up with it. I did.”

Loki laughed. Tony liked the sound of it. It felt natural. Unrestrained. Very unlike the Loki he knew.

“Hey. _Hey_ ,” Tony said out loud. “It seemed fitting, you know?”

“It _is_ fitting. Very fitting,” Loki admitted. “But let’s get back to your… blurry memories. I might have a way to fix them.”

“Really?” Tony frowned. “How?”

Loki lifted his hand to Tony’s brow.

“May I?”

“You’re… not gonna try to mind control me again, are you?” Tony asked. As if Loki would have told him.

“No. Mind control is not one of my… normal skills.”

“Right. Go on, then. Do what you must.”

“As you wish.” Loki touched his fingertips to Tony’s temple.

Tony’s head was flooded with another sort of energy than before. The one before was warm and soothing. This one wasn’t exactly unpleasant, either. It was… calm. Relaxing. But also… probing?

To his surprise, his memories started to clear up.

“Fuck,” he whispered. “I… I went jogging. I try to go every evening. I’m not as young as I used to be and Nat suggested it for keeping myself fit.”

“Good. Go on,” Loki muttered.

“I always stop for a quick coffee on my way back, always in the same coffee shop. A few minutes after I left I started to feel dizzy.”

“Mhm,” was all that left Loki’s lips.

“Then… two guys appeared. Wanted to get me in their car. I tried to fight them, but they must have knocked me out,” Tony frowned. “When I came back to my senses, I was… alone and tied up in a chair in some… basement or something. Must have been some random thugs. A professional would never let his victim alone, right?”

“How did you get out?”

“I… I’m testing something new with my Iron Man armor. I… am going to put implants under my skin, so the suit can find me and… And I only have one in my left forearm right now, so I called my gauntlet and I got out and… Fuck, my gauntlet!”

“It’s fine. It’s safe. I took it off with my magic. It’s on the kitchen counter,” Loki said. “What did you do when you got out?”

“I… took a look around. I realized I was just a block away from your apartment. I decided to come here. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“Your _tower_ , for example?” Loki smirked and Tony felt his magic withdraw.

“Didn’t want to be alone,” he murmured, suddenly much weaker than he had been a minute ago.

“Don’t you have your team?”

“Nope. Not right now. Clintasha are on a mission. Could be in the middle of China, could be in New Jersey. Bruce is on a science conference. Thor-”

“Asgard. I know,” Loki nodded. “And what about dear Captain?”

“Damned if I know,” Tony shrugged, closing his eyes. “Shit. I’m sorry, but I feel like I’m gonna...”

“Fall asleep. Yes. Don’t fight it,” Loki said. “Don’t worry. I’ll stay awake and make sure you stay alive.”

“You bitch,” Tony murmured, his tongue heavy as lead. “What did you do to me?”

“Just a minor sleeping spell. Nothing dangerous, I promise. You can stop fighting it. Sleep.”

And Tony did.

 

It was way past dawn when Loki finished his book and vanished it back into his pocket dimension, already searching for a new one.

He was lying in his bed, still fully clothed, with Tony’s sleeping – and still breathing, fortunately – form on the other half of it. He had moved the Avenger here during the night, guessing a neck cramp wouldn’t help Tony’s overall physical condition at all.

It was pointless, of course, to stay awake all night. Loki knew the drugs Tony had been given didn’t present any danger to his health. And he healed the wounds on Tony’s head. There was no internal bleeding, he checked. Twice.

But he still didn’t want to go to sleep. Just in case.

Having an unconscious Avenger in his apartment was bad enough. Having a _dead_ Avenger in his apartment? No, thank you.

Just as Loki pulled the new book from his pocket dimension, Tony stirred on the bed and groaned softly. Loki sighed and placed the book on his nightstand.

“Good morning,” he said. “I hope you slept well.”

“You ass,” Tony muttered. “Knocked me out the same evening I had already been knocked out once. That’s bad manners, you know? But oh, yes. I slept like a baby. Thanks. That spell of yours is great.”

He finally opened his eyes and looked straight at Loki, who had to fight a sudden urge to smile.

“You’re welcome,” he said instead and looked away quickly.

“Did _you_ get any sleep?” Tony asked. “You’re still wearing the T-shirt with my face on it.”

“I had to keep an eye on you,” Loki said. “And I had to find someone I could inform about what happened to you.”

“You had to _what_?!” Tony gaped. “How did you do that?”

“I teleported into your tower, told your invisible servant and asked him to contact agent Romanoff.”

“Oh, fuck.”

“I must say that it wasn’t a pleasant conversation. It was kind of hard to convince her that _I_ am not the one who kidnapped you in the first place. She was already on her way from the mission and she should come and collect you in a few hours.”

“That was nice of you. I guess. But there’s no need, really. I know I said I didn’t want to be alone yesterday, but I’m fine now, I swear.”

“Too bad. Natasha agreed with me that you shouldn’t be left alone until your attackers are found.”

“ _Nat_ agreed with _you_? Wait. Did you say _Natasha_?”

Loki glanced at Tony and their eyes met again.

“I might have.”

“Oh, no. If you befriend Natasha, the world is doomed.”

“I doubt that an Avenger like her would like to befriend a villain like me.”

“Are you aware you’re saying that to an Avenger that’s currently occupying your bed, right?” Tony asked, raising his right eyebrow. He rolled to his side, which got him a little closer to Loki. “Besides, you’re not really a villain, are you? I mean, according to SHIELD, you are, but according to the Avengers, you’re a minor pain in the ass at best. Come on. What’s the most villainous thing you’ve done in the past few months?”

“I led an invasion on your planet, did you forget?”

“That was _two years ago_. And it was basically the only really villainous thing you ever did. And I’m pretty sure it wasn’t even your invasion. Something else?”

“The attack last week?” Loki smirked.

“Oh, yes. That. Loki, you tried to take over a _chocolate factory_ because they discontinued your favorite chocolate bar.”

“Not mine.”

“Excuse me?”

“Not _my_ favorite chocolate bar,” Loki sighed. “There’s this kid that lives in the apartment below mine. A boy, he’s called Peter and he’s about… twelve. His parents died recently and his mother used to buy him this chocolate bar, so-”

“Reindeer Games, I hate to break it to you, but wanting to give an orphaned boy his favorite sweet doesn’t exactly make you a villain. Quite the opposite, really.”

And was that a soft, almost fond smile playing on Tony’s lips?

“Shut your mouth, Stark,” Loki growled. “Don’t try to turn me into a hero.”

“Or else?”

“Or else I will burn your Avengers Tower to the ground.”

“Excuse me, am I supposed to pretend I’m scared?”

“You should. I can destroy everything you’ve ever loved.”

“Yeah, you’ve already tried that and it kinda didn’t work.”

“This time, it will. I will personally tear your stupid monument down, brick after brick-”

“I’m afraid you’ll find there aren’t many bricks there.”

“You,” Loki growled. “You stupid ignorant mortal, don’t make me regret taking care of you, you-”

But then Tony suddenly pressed his lips against Loki’s and the god was completely stunned. For a second or two, he didn’t move a muscle, but then he felt his mouth start to return the kiss on its own volition. His hand grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled the human closer.

And he expected Tony to pull back, but he didn’t, he pressed himself against Loki’s body, in fact, and sighed softly and _whimpered…_

Loki was seconds away from doing something incredibly stupid when he heard the ring of the doorbell. He pushed Tony away from him as quickly as possible. The man’s brown eyes were wide with shock.

“It would seem...” Loki said, licking his lips. “It would seem that agent Romanoff got here a little sooner than expected.”

“Yeah,”Tony muttered. “No shit, Sherlock...”

 

It took several hours before Tony was finally allowed to go home. Natasha forced him to make a stop at SHIELD first and get checked by the medics. She also tried to get some sort of a statement out of him, but Tony wouldn’t yield. He had been drugged. He didn’t remember anything.

In truth, he _did_ , but he didn’t want Natasha to go after those guys. He wanted to find them himself.

But he would have to convince her to leave him alone first. Damn it.

“I told you, Tash,” he sighed when she followed him into the elevator in the Tower. “You don’t have to walk me _home_.”

“Fury’s orders,” she said as the door slid close behind them. “I have to make sure you get there safely, then I’m gonna go and try to find those assholes who did this to you.”

“How are you gonna find them with nearly no data?”

“I’m a spy. Trust me. I’ll find them.”

“Right. Of course you will. Can I-”

“No, you cannot go with me.”

“That’s mean, Romanoff.”

“Come on, Tony. I wouldn’t mind you joining me, but it is too risky.” The elevator stopped. “There is someone out there who’s after you and-”

“What the _fuck_?!” Tony yelped.

Because there were two chairs right in the middle of his living room, occupied by two tied up men, both rather dubious looking.

Tony know who they were. He knew the moment he saw them.

“They have already confessed,” said a soft, if slightly angry voice from the left.

Tony turned his head to find Loki there, leaning against the wall by the elevator with a glass of golden liquid in his hand. Scotch, probably.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Tony asked. “What the hell are _they_ doing here?!”

“I found them,” Loki shrugged and took a sip of his drink. “And brought them to you. I thought you’d like to turn them in yourself. As I’ve said, they confessed. Well, to me. They also told me the name of the barista who put the drug in your coffee, but I think it would be for the best to keep her out of it. She didn’t _want_ to cooperate with them, they made her do it by threatening her little child.”

“Yeah, as far as I’m concerned, there wasn’t any barista involved,” Tony nodded. “Hello, boys. Nice to see the tables have turned.”

“Look, man, I’ll tell you everything,” one of the thugs said, desperately trying not to look at Loki and failing. “Just send that lunatic away, please. Please!”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Loki smiled a smile that just about screamed _mischief_. “Not until you tell those two nice Avengers what you told me. Why did you kidnap Tony Stark?”

“Someone’s paid us to do it,” the thug said.

“Who?” Natasha asked.

The thug bit his lower lip. Apparently his ‘everything’ didn’t literally mean _everything_.

“Lady, I can’t-”

“Who?” Loki repeated. When Tony glanced at him, he saw that while Loki’s right hand was still holding a glass, the left one was casually playing with an ornate and probably very sharp dagger.

Thug number one shook his head, but thug number two didn’t want to risk Loki’s wrath.

“Hammer!” he exclaimed. “It was Justin Hammer!”

Natasha and Tony exchanged a short glance. The spy nodded.

“I’ll call Fury,” she said. “Nice job, Loki.”

The dagger slipped from Loki’s fingers and clattered to the floor.

 

Another hour later, the kidnappers were being escorted to the SHIELD headquarters and Tony and Loki were left alone.

Loki found that quite unbelievable, to be honest. He expected to be taken into SHIELD’s custody himself. Or maybe to get an arrow through his eye socket when Barton showed up.

Because… Hello? Loki, a known villain, standing in Tony Stark’s penthouse with two agents _and_ a director of SHIELD – and he gets to walk away? Incredible.

“So… That’s it,” Tony said when the elevator doors slid closed behind the agents and their prisoners. “Drink?”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m asking if you’d like a drink. Because you definitely deserve it,” Tony said, already on his way to the kitchen area. Loki hesitated, but decided to follow him. “You did a really good job catching those assholes. How did you do it, by the way?”

“The spell I used to restore your memories. I saw them, too.”

“Oh. Right. Of course,” Tony nodded, taking two glasses from the counter and pouring whisky into them. “But how did you _find_ them?”

“I went to the house where you had been held. And then… Well, magic. And a bit of threatening.”

“Awesome,” Tony grinned and gave Loki one of the glasses. “As I said, good job. Really good. But please, don’t drop the glass out of pure _shock_ of hearing someone praise you, right? _Again_.”

Loki snorted. He really hoped Stark hadn’t noticed or paid attention to his previous slip.

“What is your game, Stark?” he growled. “Are you trying to pull me to your side? That’s not going to work.”

“Yeah, yeah, because you’re a villain, I know. We’ve been through this. But tell me, Loki, if you are such a villain, why haven’t I seen you _helping_ another villain we’re fighting, eh? Like… I don’t know, Doom. Or Mysterio. Or that crazy Asgardian chick who also likes green, what was her… Yeah, Amora. Why haven’t I seen you helping Hydra or something?”

“Are you expecting me to follow them into battle?” Loki frowned. “I don’t do that. I am more of a… consulting sorcerer.”

“Consulting sorcerer. Nice,” Tony grinned. “I see what you did there.”

“Except for Hydra. I would never work for those Nazis. In fact, the sooner they all burn, the better.”

“Yeah. You’re totally a villain, honey. Not wanting to work for Nazis, making sure orphans get their favorite sweets, helping billionaires in need, staying awake all night to make sure said billionaires don’t die, catching bad guys…”

“Shut up, Stark. Don’t try to make a hero out of me.”

“Hero? No. I just think you’re neutral at best.”

“Oh, do you, now?” Loki growled. “What about this, then?”

He knocked back his drink, placed the glass on the counter, wrapped his hand around Tony’s neck and squeezed.

He was expecting to see shock or confusion or fear on Stark’s face. He definitely didn’t expect the man to smirk. _Smirk!_

“If you want it to be believable, I’m afraid you’re gonna have to squeeze harder,” Tony said.

Loki growled again, turning them around so Tony’s lower back hit the counter, and tightened his grip on the man’s throat.

“You _annoying_ mortal,” he rasped. “Do you have a death wish?”

Tony’s smirk didn’t go anywhere. It might have even grown bigger.

“Not exactly,” he said, just a little winded. Loki wasn’t squeezing nearly hard enough to cut his oxygen supply and Stark definitely knew it. “I just...”

Tony’s brown eyes glanced at Loki’s lips for a millisecond, but then swiftly returned to Loki’s green ones. Loki couldn’t help a tiny shiver that ran down his spine.

His whole mind was screaming _bad idea_ , but his body had a very different opinion on the matter.

He bent down and crashed his lips into Tony’s.

 

Tony’s whole body was shaking and sweating. He was breathless, incapable to make any sound except for gasps and tiny moans.

To be fair, Loki didn’t seem to be any better. His hands were placed on the counter by Tony’s sides, supporting the god’s weight, and his sharp intakes of breath were like music to Tony’s ear. Oh, and he was shivering so beautifully…

“Wow,” Tony managed after a while. “That was… unexpected.”

“Absolutely,” Loki muttered, wrapping one of his arms around Tony’s torso. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have.”

“No, no, you definitely should have,” Tony argued. “I wanted it. And it was amazing. The best sex of my life.”

He felt Loki’s lips nuzzle against his neck before he pulled away to look Tony in the eyes.

“I know that you wanted it,” he smiled. “What I don’t understand is why.”

Tony shrugged.

“The same reason why I kissed you this morning,” he admitted. “I’ve always kinda liked you. I’ve always known that even though you definitely are a mischievous and slightly crazy piece of shit, you are not the asshole you pretend to be. And when that turned out to be true, I just… You know you’re also incredibly _hot_ , don’t you?”

“Of course I do.”

“Ass.”

“Is it the right time to say that I’ve always kind of liked you, too?” Loki’s hand slid up Tony’s back and curled in his hair. “The mad, insolent Midgardian who decided to threaten a _god_ without his armor on and _then_ made a joke about erectile dysfunction... What’s not to like? Besides, you are more than just incredibly hot.”

Tony pressed their lips together again. He couldn’t help it. He’d been having this weird fantasy for _months_ and now it was happening, and…

“Please,” he whispered against Loki’s lips. “Please be _our_ consulting magician.”

“Sorcerer.”

“Yeah. Sorry. Our consulting sorcerer.”

Loki sighed, nuzzling his lips against Tony’s neck again. Tony had to suppress a loud moan.

“I have conditions,” Loki said.

“Anything.”

Loki pulled away, looking Tony straight in the face.

“I will not be a part of the team. I will keep living in my apartment, not in this tower. But I will be allowed to come here as I please.”

“You mean the Tower or the penthouse in particular?”

“Both.”

“Right. Done,” Tony nodded. “I mean… There will be _some_ restrictions, obviously, like the private flats and top secret areas, but… Done.”

“Good. Also, you will never ever, and I mean _ever_ , call me an Avenger. None of you. I will _never_ be one.”

“Got it. And you’ve already mentioned that, by the way. Anything else?”

A feral grin appeared on Loki’s face and _hot damn_ , it had no right to be so arousing.

“If you ever take another lover, I will go to all the villains I know and tell them all your darkest secrets and all your weaknesses. Then I will watch them, and what’s more important, _you_ will watch them tear your team apart. And _then_ I’m really going to burn this stupid tower down. And then, only _then_ I will kill you. Slowly. And painfully. Have I made myself clear?”

“Absolutely,” Tony murmured, a shiver running down his spine. And not a shiver of _fear_. “Just for the record, does that mean _we_ are lovers now?”

“Let’s call it… colleagues with benefits.”

 

**TWO YEARS LATER**

“Why is _everyone_ always building fucking _robots_?!” Tony growled as he shot one of said robots with a repulsor blast. “Is that a new trend according to villain magazines or something? _Wanna conquer the world? ROBOTS are the trick!_ ”

“Since you’ve mentioned magazines,” Loki said, cutting a robot’s wires with his dagger. “Have you noticed they’d started calling me an Avenger? _Avenger_! The audacity!”

“Dumpling, you’ve helped us on every mission in the past three months. I think you might have confused the journalists.”

“Excuse me? I’ve always made it very clear that I am _not_ an Avenger!”

“You’ve made it very clear that you don’t consider _yourself_ an Avenger. Duck!” he yelled, already taking his shot. He knew Loki would drop to the ground in time. “You can’t really hold it against other people that _they do_ consider you an Avenger.”

“Do _you_ consider me an Avenger, Anthony?” Loki frowned, jumping back to his feet and taking another robot down with his dagger.

“I’d like to plead the fifth.”

A sudden wave of green energy made every single robot in the perimeter spark and tumble to the ground. Loki took a deep breath and walked to Tony.

“Look at me,” he said.

Tony let his helmet fold down and gave Loki a bright smile. His armor gave him enough additional height that he was for once able to look Loki in the eyes without having to tilt his head back, but for some reason it wasn’t very reassuring. Quite the opposite, in fact.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“Anthony Stark. Do you think of me as an Avenger?”

“I might,” Tony sighed. “No, you know, okay, I confess. I kind of do.”

“You promised me. You promised you would never-”

“Nope. I promised you I will never _call_ you an Avenger. And I never did that. What I _think_ is an entirely different matter,” Tony said, hoping Loki wasn’t going to behead him the next second. “Come on, it’s not even my fault. You fight with us. You live with us.”

“I live with _you_ , the rest of the team just… happens to be there.”

“You are a vital part of the team, whether you like it or not. We can’t imagine going on a mission _without_ you. And you know what, you moron? I’m not even the only one who thinks it, we all do. _You are an Avenger_ , Loki, so fucking deal with it.”

Loki’s eyes went wide with shock and Tony gulped. Oh, damn, he just broke rule number one. _Never ever tell Loki he’s already become an Avenger_. What would happen now? Would Loki just disappear and never return again? Would he make Tony suffer for his impertinence? Would he…

Oh. It looked like he would kiss him. Right. Tony had no complaints about that.

It was only a few seconds, but when Loki pulled away, there was a wide grin at his face.

“You really think that?” he asked.

“I… Yes?”

“Well, in that case, I suppose I _could_ live with it.”

“You could?” This time it was Tony who grinned. “Wait, seriously? Are you telling me that in two weeks, you will be known as Loki Stark, an _Avenger_?”

“Yes. That’s what I’m saying.”

Their lips met again in a soft kiss, just before Clint’s voice suddenly sounded through the comms.

“Isn’t that sweet? You know, if you two lovesick puppies are done with your robots there, could you maybe come and help us with _ours_? Because we’re getting a little overwhelmed here. But if you’d rather have a quick fuck in an alley somewhere, go for it, I guess, it’s not like the city’s full of robots or anything.”

“I’d prefer the quickie, actually,” Tony laughed.

“But since you asked so nicely, Barton...” Loki smiled. “We’re on our way.”

Loki took a step back and Tony let his helmet fall back in place.

“Oh, and by the way,” Tony said when Loki offered him a hand so he could teleport them both. “I think I’m gonna send a wedding invitation to Hammer in prison, with a thank you card for getting me kidnapped two years ago. It’s only thanks to him that we got together, right?”

“Yes, love, you do that. And I want to sign it, too.”

“I’m counting on that, princess,” Tony laughed. “Alright. Cap. Can I say it for our new teammate?”

“We both know that even if I tell you know, you will say it anyway,” Cap’s voice replied. “But go on.”

“Thank you, Captain,” Tony said, grabbing Loki’s hand. “Avengers… Assemble!”

Loki grinned and they both disappeared in a flash of green light.


End file.
